All three judges ruled 119-104 for Klitschko (61-3). Povetkin lost for the first time in 27 fights.

“Povetkin is a fighter with high spirit,” said Klitschko's older brother, Vitali.

“He fought till the end. I do not think the bout could have been finished earlier. If Wladimir could do it, he would have certainly done it.”

Klitschko stuck to his usual tactics, scoring frequently off his left jab and forcing Povetkin to attack, but the Russian rarely succeeded.

Klitschko first knocked Povetkin down with a combination 51 seconds into the seventh round. He floored Povetkin again with a left hook 35 seconds later, and again with 57 seconds left, but the Russian recovered.

Povetkin became the mandatory challenger for Klitschko when he beat Hasim Rahman last year. Povetkin lost his regular WBA title, which he had defended four times before falling to Klitschko.

The latter gave up the belt in 2011 when he was elevated by the WBA to super champion after beating David Haye.